1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable telephone equipped with an opening/closing cover that houses an operating part.
2. Description of Related Art
Among prior-art portable telephones, there are those with which an operating part, provided with telephone number input keys, etc., has an opening/closing cover mounted thereto, and this opening/closing cover houses the operating part at its inner side.
FIG. 1 shows a prior-art portable telephone equipped with such a cover for the operating part.
In FIG. 1, an operating part 3, provided with telephone number input keys and various function buttons, is disposed at the lower-half portion of the front face of a main casing 2 of a portable telephone 1.
This operating part 3 is disposed in a recessed part 3A formed in the main casing 2 so that when an opening/closing cover 4 is folded and closed, the front face of this opening/closing cover 4 will be flush with the front face of the main casing 2.
The opening/closing cover 4 has its base end part pivotally supported on the lower end part of the main casing 2 and is thereby mounted to the main casing 2 in a manner enabling opening and closing.
In FIG. 1, 5 denotes a display panel, 6 denotes an antenna, 7 denotes a speaker, and 8 denotes a switch or other form of operating lever.
In the standby condition of this portable telephone 1, the opening/closing cover 4 is folded with respect to the main casing 2 and fitted inside the recessed part 3A of the main casing 2 so that the operating part 3, which is disposed in this recessed part 3A, is housed at the inner side and unexposed to the exterior.
When the operation of the operating part 3 for making or receiving a call, etc. becomes necessary, the opening/closing cover 4 is raised from the main casing 2 and opened so that the operating part 3 will be exposed to the exterior.
Such a portable telephone 1, equipped with the opening/closing cover 4 that houses the operating part 3, has the advantage that, by disposing a microphone and a part of the function buttons at the opening/closing cover 4 side, the outer dimensions of the condition in which the opening/closing cover 4 is folded can be made more compact in comparison to a portable phone that is not equipped with an opening/closing cover, and since in the standby condition, the operating part 3 is housed at the inner side of the folded opening/closing cover 4 and is not exposed to the exterior, the input keys, etc. are protected and erroneous operation due to erroneous pressing of the operating part 3 is prevented.
However, with such a prior art portable telephone 1, since the operating part 3 is disposed within the recessed part 3A for housing the opening/closing cover 4 in the main casing 2, when the opening/closing cover 4 is opened, the operating part 3 is positioned at a position that is recessed from the front face of the main casing 2 and is made difficult to operate.
Particularly, if a part of the function buttons is disposed at the inner surface part of the opening/closing cover 4, the operability becomes poor due to the difference in the stroke of the fingers required for operation, since an offset is formed between the operating part 3 disposed on the main casing 2 and the operating part disposed on the opening/closing cover 4.
Moreover, with the above-described prior-art portable telephone 1, when the opening/closing cover 4 is opened, this opening/closing cover 4 extends to the outer side, making the outer shape large as can be understood from FIG. 1.
Also, with the progresses made in the multi-function capabilities of portable telephones and the increased amount of information sent and received, especially in recent years, the need to make the display panel larger and improve the operability and convenience of portable telephones has been becoming stronger.
Since the outer shape of a portable telephone thus tends to be large, when as in the conventional portable telephone, the opening/closing cover extends to the outer side of the main casing when the opening/closing cover is opened, the outer shape of the portable phone during use becomes even larger, making the phone unfit for portable use.
This invention has been made to resolve the above-described problems of portable telephones and other portable information terminals.
This invention has also been made to solve the above-described problems of prior-art portable telephones with an opening/closing cover that houses the operating part.
An object of this invention is to secure good operability in a portable telephone equipped with an opening/closing cover that houses the operating part.
In order to achieve the above object, a portable telephone according to a first aspect of the present invention, equipped with an opening/closing cover, which can be opened and closed and houses an operating part at the inner side, has an operating panel, which comprises the above mentioned operating part, and which is mounted to a main casing of the portable telephone in a manner enabling movement between a position at the front face side and a position at the inner side of the main casing, a moving part, which moves this operating panel between the position at the front face side and the position at the inner side of the main casing. The above mentioned operating panel is positioned at the position at the inner side of the main casing and is housed at the inner side of the opening/closing cover when the above mentioned opening/closing cover is at the closed position, and the operating panel is moved to the position at the front face side of the main casing by the moving part in accordance with the opening operation of the opening/closing cover when the opening/closing cover is opened so that the operating surface of the operating panel will be positioned at a position at which it will be substantially flush with the back face of the opening/closing cover that is positioned at the opened position.
With this portable telephone according to the first aspect of the invention, when the opening/closing cover is closed as in the standby condition of the portable telephone, the operating panel is positioned at the position at the inner side of the main casing and is housed at the inner side of the opening/closing cover.
Besides, when the opening/closing cover is opened for a sending/receiving operation, etc., the moving part is actuated by the opening operation of the opening/closing cover and the operating panel is moved from the position at the inner side to the position at the front face side of the main casing, and when the opening/closing cover is opened completely and is positioned at the opened position, the operating surface of the operating panel that has been moved by the moving part becomes substantially flush with the back face (the surface that becomes the front face when the opening/closing cover is at the opened position) of the opening/closing cover that is positioned at the opened position.
Thus with the first aspect of this invention, when the opening/closing cover of a portable telephone equipped with the opening/closing cover is opened, an offset does not form between the back face of the opening/closing cover at the opened position and the operating surface of the operating panel. Therefore even when a part of the operation part is disposed on the back face of the opening/closing cover, the operating part disposed at this opening/closing cover and the operating part of the operating panel can be operated by the same stroke of the fingers and good operability can thus be secured.
To achieve the above-described object, a portable telephone according to a second aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the first aspect of this invention, a characteristic that a part of the above mentioned operating part is disposed at the back face side of the above mentioned opening/closing cover. The outer shape of the portable telephone can thereby be made compact and good operability is secured by the operating part disposed on the opening/closing cover and the operating part of the operating panel being positioned substantially within the same plane.
To achieve the above object, a portable telephone according to a third aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the first aspect of this invention, the characteristic that the above mentioned moving part is a resilient member that is interposed between the operating panel and the main casing and urges the operating panel in the direction of the position at the front face side of the main casing, and when the opening/closing cover is opened, the operating panel is moved from the position at the inner side towards the position at the front face side of the main casing by being urged by the resilient member.
To achieve the above object, a portable telephone according to a fourth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the first aspect of this invention, the characteristic that the above mentioned moving part is an arm member, which is provided on the opening/closing cover and, in accompaniment with the opening operation of the opening/closing cover, engages with the above mentioned operating panel to urge the operating panel in the direction of the position at the front face side of the main casing, and when the opening/closing cover is opened, the operating panel is moved from the position at the inner side towards the position at the front face side of the main casing by being urged by the arm member.
To achieve the above object, a portable telephone according to a fifth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the first aspect of this invention, the characteristic of being equipped with a movable member, which is mounted to the operating panel in a manner enabling movement relative to the operating panel and, by the urging force that accompanies the opening operation of the opening/closing cover, is moved in the direction of engaging with the main casing and becomes latched to the main casing to position the operating panel at the position at the front face side of the main casing.
With the portable telephone according to the fifth aspect, when the opening/closing cover is opened, the urging force that is generated in accompaniment with this opening operation of the opening/closing cover is applied to the movable member and the movable member is moved in the direction of engaging with the main casing.
Besides when the opening/closing cover is positioned at the opened position, the movable member becomes latched to the main casing and the operating panel is thereby positioned at the position at the front face side of the main casing at which it becomes substantially flush with the back face of the opening/closing cover that is at the opened position.
To achieve the above object, a portable telephone according to a sixth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the fifth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that a disengaging member, which, when the urging force on said movable member is relieved, urges the engaged movable member in the direction of disengaging from the main casing, is provided at the part of the main casing with which the above mentioned movable member engages. Thus when the urging force on the movable member is relieved in the process of closing the opening/closing cover, the disengaging member urges the movable member in the direction opposite that when the opening/closing cover is opened and disengages the movable member from the main casing, thereby enabling the movement of the operating panel from the position at the front face side towards the position at the inner side of the main casing.
To achieve the above object, a portable telephone according to a seventh aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the first aspect of this invention, the characteristic that the above mentioned main casing is equipped with an opened/closed condition detection part, which detects that the opening/closing cover is opened and thereupon sets the above mentioned operating part in the condition that enables operation. Since the operation of the operating part is thereby enabled when the opening/closing cover is opened and the operation of the operating part is disabled when the opening/closing cover is closed, erroneous operation is prevented and saving of power is achieved.
To achieve the above object, a portable telephone according to an eighth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the first aspect of this invention, the characteristic that the above mentioned opening/closing cover is mounted to the main casing at a position such that the opening direction will be at the display panel side of the portable telephone. The enlargement of the outer shape of the portable telephone when the opening/closing cover is opened can thereby be prevented.
Another object of this invention is to provide in a portable information terminal equipped with an opening/closing cover, a portable information terminal with which the outer shape will not become large even when the opening/closing cover is opened and yet with which good operability and convenience are secured.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a nineth aspect of the invention, equipped with an opening/closing cover, which can be opened and closed and houses an operating part at the inner side, and a display part, which displays images, is equipped with an opened/closed condition detection part, which detects the opening/closing of the above mentioned opening/closing cover, and an image display part, which outputs image signals to the above mentioned display part to make images be displayed on the display part, and which, upon receiving the input of an opened/closed condition detection signal from the above mentioned opened/closed condition detection part, performs, in accordance with the input of the opened/closed condition detection signal, predetermined forms of signal processing on the image signals to be output to the display part and makes images be displayed on the display part in accordance with the signal processed image signals.
The portable information terminal according to the ninth aspect of the invention is equipped with a display part, on which is displayed telephone numbers, electronic mail, and other images, and an opening/closing cover, which can be opened and closed and houses and protects an operating part, for inputting telephone numbers and performing other forms of information processing, at the inner side when the operating part is not used. Besides when the input of a telephone number or other form of information processing is to be performed by operation of the operating part, the opening/closing cover is opened so that the operating part will be exposed to the exterior.
That the opening/closing cover has been opened is detected by the opened/closed condition detection part, and when the opened/closed condition detection signal is input into the image display part from the opened/closed condition detection part, the image display part performs the required signal processes on the image signals to be output to the display part to make the display part display images and changes the images displayed on the display part to the required forms.
For example, in the case where a part of the display part becomes hidden by the opened opening/closing cover and becomes unable to be seen, the image displayed on the display part is compressed and changed to a form with which the entirety of the image can be seen, or an image displayed on the display part is changed to a form with which the image can be scrolled in the required direction so that the necessary parts of the image will not be hidden by the opening/closing cover, or the image displayed on the display part is changed to a form with which a required part of the image is moved to a required position of the display part so that it will not be hidden by the opening/closing cover.
Thus with the above-described ninth aspect of the invention, even in the case where a part of an image displayed on the display part becomes hidden by the opening/closing cover when the opening/closing cover that is mounted to the operating part is opened, the image that is displayed on the display part is changed by the image display part to a required form that will not hinder operations that make use of the image, good operability and convenience of the portable information terminal are secured, and since the opening/closing cover can thus be mounted at a position at which it will overlap with the display part when at the opened position, the opened opening/closing cover can be prevented from being extended from the outer edge part of the portable information terminal and enlarging the outer shape of the portable information terminal.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a tenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the ninth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that when an opened/closed condition detection signal that indicates that the opening/closing cover has been opened is input from the opened/closed condition detection part, the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that compresses the image displayed on the display part. Thus even in the case where a part of the display part becomes hidden by the opened opening/closing cover and unable to be seen, the compressed image will be displayed at a portion of the display part that is not overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position, thereby securing the operability and convenience of the portable information terminal.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to an eleventh aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the tenth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that the above mentioned signal process of compressing the image is a signal process that decreases the scanning lines for image display, and a compressed image is thereby displayed on the display part.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a twelfth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the tenth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that when an opened/closed condition detection signal that indicates that the opening/closing cover has been closed is input from the opened/closed condition detection part, the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that returns the compressed image displayed on the display part to the original size. The original image can thus be made to be displayed on the entirety of the display part when the opening/closing cover becomes closed and operation using the operating part is not performed.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a thirteenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the tenth aspect of this invention, the characteristics that the above mentioned opening/closing cover is disposed at a position at which it will overlap with the above mentioned display part when at the opened position and the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that makes a compressed image be displayed on a portion of the display part that will not be overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position. Since a compressed image will thus be displayed at a portion of the display part that is not overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position, the operability and convenience of the portable information terminal will be secured, and since the opening/closing cover can be mounted at a position at which it will overlap with the display part at the opened position, the opened opening/closing cover can be prevented from being extended from the outer edge of the portable information terminal and enlarging the outer shape of the portable information terminal.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a fourteenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the ninth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that when an opened/closed condition detection signal that indicates that the opening/closing cover has been opened is input from the opened/closed condition detection part, the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that scrolls the image displayed on the display part in a required direction. Thus even in the case where a part of the display part becomes hidden by the opened opening/closing cover and unable to be seen, the compressed image will be scrolled in a required direction so that the image of the necessary portion will be displayed at a portion of the display part that is not overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position. The operability and convenience of the portable information terminal can thus be secured.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a fifteenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the fourteenth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that when an opened/closed condition detection signal that indicates that the opening/closing cover has been closed is input from the opened/closed condition detection part, the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that scrolls the image, which is displayed on the display part and is at the scrolled position, back to the original position. The original image can thus be made to be displayed on the entirety of the display part when the opening/closing cover becomes closed and operation using the operating part is not performed.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a sixteenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the fourteenth aspect of this invention, the characteristics that the above mentioned opening/closing cover is disposed at a position at which it will overlap with the above mentioned display part when at the opened position and the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that scrolls the image towards a portion of the display part that will not be overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position. Since the scrolled part of the image that is necessary for operation, etc. will thus be displayed at a portion of the display part that is not overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position, the operability and convenience of the portable information terminal will be secured, and since the opening/closing cover can be mounted at a position at which it will overlap with the display part at the opened position, the opened opening/closing cover can be prevented from being extended from the outer edge of the portable information terminal and enlarging the outer shape of the portable information terminal.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a seventeenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the nineth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that when an opened/closed condition detection signal that indicates that the opening/closing cover has been opened is input from the opened/closed condition detection part, the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that moves an arbitrary image selected from the image displayed on the display part to a required position. Thus even in the case where a part of the display part becomes hidden by the opened the opening/closing cover and unable to be seen, the image of the necessary portion of the image displayed will be moved to a portion of the display part that is not overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position. The operability and convenience of the portable information terminal can thus be secured.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to an eighteenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the seventeenth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that the above mentioned selection of the image to be moved is performed by the detection of the touched position of a touch panel mounted to the display part. A user can thus select the image portion to be moved and make this image portion be moved to the required position of the display part when the opening/closing cover is opened, simply by touching the portion of the touch panel, mounted to the display part, that corresponds to the position at which the desired image is displayed.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a nineteenth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the seventeenth aspect of this invention, the characteristic that when an opened/closed condition detection signal that indicates that the opening/closing cover has been closed is input from the opened/closed condition detection part, the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that moves the selected image, which is at the moved position in the display part, back to the original position. The moved image can thus be made to be displayed at the original position of the display part when the opening/closing cover becomes closed and operation using the operating part is not performed.
To achieve the above object, a portable information terminal according to a twentieth aspect of the invention has, in addition to the arrangement according to the seventeenth aspect of this invention, the characteristics that the above mentioned opening/closing cover is disposed at a position at which it will overlap with the above mentioned display part when at the opened position and the above mentioned image display part applies to the image signals a signal process that moves a selected image to a position of the display part that will not be overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position. Since the image, which is the part of the image, displayed on the display part, that is necessary for operation, etc., will thus be displayed at a portion of the display part that is not overlapped with the opening/closing cover at the opened position, the operability and convenience of the portable information terminal will be secured, and since the opening/closing cover can be mounted at a position at which it will overlap with the display part at the opened position, the opened opening/closing cover can be prevented from being extended from the outer edge of the portable information terminal and enlarging the outer shape of the portable information terminal.